It's the Drugs, Steve
by MMGHawaii
Summary: Danno shares his candid thoughts with Steve in an unexpected way and a unique setting.  This short story is also a response to a writer's challenge to use one or more lines of dialog,  I've highlighted the line.


**It's the Drugs, Steve**

Danno lay mostly asleep on the gurney in the ER as Doc worked on him. He'd been there about a half hour. Steve burst in, closely followed by Chin and Kono. "Doc, how's he?"

"Steve, calm down. He'll be fine. He's got two knife wounds. One on the back of his shoulder, the other in his side. They're long, nasty, but not deep. I'll stitch him up. Rolling around on the ground wrestling with that thug didn't do him any good. The wounds are full of dirt and grit. That's what I'm working on now- cleaning them out. He'll be fine."

Noticing Steve's look at the unconscious patient, Doc reassured him, "Steve, he's only sleeping from the pain meds I gave him." Then addressing Danny, he encouraged, "Danny, boy, wake up. Your boss wants to see you." All he got in response was a dull moan.

Doc tried again, "C'mon, open your eyes, join the living again." Just a slight shift as the injured man rolled a bit.

Steve was impatient and commanded in a slightly louder than normal voice, "Danno, open your eyes." He was immediately rewarded with the eyes popping open and looking at him, albeit slightly unfocused. To be honest, Steve was a bit surprised at the instant obedience.

Danno was fairly doped up from the drugs- more than a bit loopy. He looked at Doc, then Steve, then Doc again. Addressing Steve, he asked, "Am I dead?"

Steve screwed up his brow and answered forcefully, "NO! You're not dead! Why would you think that?"

Danno looked at Doc, "He's the coroner. Coroners work with dead people. So I must be dead."

Doc rolled his eyes. Steve patiently explained to his new young detective, "Doc Bergman IS the coroner. He's also the official Five-O physician."

Danno looked at him like he was nuts. "Steve, you're nuts! You mean to tell me my new doctor is the county coroner? That's crazy!"

Steve was a bit taken aback at the cheeky manner of his second in command. He was just getting used to Danno and his ways. He could deal, although with some difficulty, with Danno disagreeing with him, but this was an almost defiant attitude. Certainly calling your boss crazy was disrespectful, at best.

Doc picked up on Steve's concern. "Steve, it's the drugs talking. He's not really responsible for what he's saying."

Steve digested that, somewhat mollified. Danny was with it enough to grasp what was going on, and played it for all he could.

"Yeah, Steve, it's the drugs talking." He continued, "You are crazy. You're the weirdest boss I've ever had."

Steve jumped. He ordered Chin and Kono back to the office, and pulled up a round wheeled stool to sit next to his friend. They had only worked together a short while. Less than six months, but he and Danno had already become close.

Steve looked at Doc, cocked his eyebrow and asked, "The drugs?"

Doc continued his work, "Yes, Steve. I've got him fairly doped up."

Steve looked at Danno, and said, "What do you mean by that? Weird?"

Danno innocently replied, "Well, anyone who has a coroner as a physician is WEIRD. No doubt about that." He acted triumphant with his comment.

Steve opened his mouth to comment, then realized he didn't know what to say. Danno laughed. "It's not just that, you know. Maybe weird isn't the right word…. You're… different." Then grinning, he added, "But you don't fool me!"

Steve was perplexed, "What do you mean, I don't fool you?"

Danno rolled a bit away from Doc as he probed deep to get a bit of dirt, earning a reprimand from Doc to lie still. "Sorry, Doc, I know you're used to your… patients… not moving at all no matter what you do to them!"

Danno suddenly looked up at Doc, eyes wide open and asked, **"Is it time yet?"**

Doc and Steve looked at each other, puzzled. Doc asked, "Time for what?"

Danny appeared a bit more dazed than a minute earlier- this was not unexpected and didn't bother Doc at all. Some confusion was normal. Danny mumbled, "Time for my nap. I like taking naps on the beach." With that the patient shut his eyes and slept five minutes.

Doc and Steve visited quietly, and then Danno's eyes opened. He blinked a few times, orientating himself to his surroundings.

Steve wanted his attention back, "Danno, what did you mean by that comment about not fooling you?"

Danno smirked, looked at Doc, "It's the drugs talking. Doc said so."

Impatient, Steve questioned, "Danno, what did you mean?"

Danno finally answered him, "Simple, Steve. You put on this big show, you've got all these walls up. You act like a tiger. But you're really just a pussycat!" And he chuckled.

Steve was shocked. Doc laughed. Danno reminded his boss, "Steve, Doc said it's the drugs talking. I'm not responsible for what I say."

Steve looked at his friend warily, knowing that it was highly likely that he did indeed know exactly what he was saying. Not wanting to know, but refusing to let it lie, he pursued the issue, "What do you mean by that remark- that I'm a pussy cat?"

Danno replied, "You come on strong and tough and strong, and you ARE all those things. But underneath you really care and you're soft." Then he laughed, and giggling adding, "And snuggly!"

Seeing Steve's indignation, he hastily amended, "It's the drugs, Steve. Doc's got me shot up with them- I'm loopy."

Steve muttered, "Yeah, loopy all right!"

"Snuggly! What does THAT mean?"

Danny replied, "Well, Steve, right now snuggly with you means something like a hand on the shoulder, or a kiss on the cheek for May. But I'll work on you, we'll get you so you can hug and all that!"

Danny decided to explain further, "Look, Steve. You hide it well, but I can see through it. Remember when I shot that kid? How upset I was? You cared, you really cared about me. You worked hard to exonerate me. But you also cared about how I was doing mentally. You wanted to make sure I was okay. That came through to me Steve, loud and clear, even though you didn't say it with words- pussycat!"

Steve made no comment, and bristled at the moniker, which Danno noticed and chuckled at. The compliment was appreciated by his boss, though.

Danny continued, "Then when you were shot by Trinian? Steve, that was when I realized how much you meant to me. I was terrified you wouldn't live. Then finally when you were awake and aware, you noticed what I was feeling and asked about ME. That's the pussycat. And the same pussycat came through complimenting me- 'Well done, Danno!' Over and over again you show how much you care- about me- about May, Chin, Kono, all of us."

Enjoying the bewildered look on his boss's face, grinning, he said, "It's the drugs talking, Steve. You're just a pussycat!"

Doc was about to add his own amusing comment, but silenced his reply because of Steve's glare. Skeptically McGarrett muttered, "Yeah, the drugs talking. No doubt."

Danno eyed his boss and friend, "Steve, you trust me. And trust doesn't come easily for you. That's okay." Smirking he said, "You'll learn." Danny was loving this excuse to say whatever he wanted.

Then growing serious again, he said, "You do, Steve. Trust me. And you're okay with it. When Tommy died, and you were hurting, you trusted me." He pierced Steve with a very direct, clear, focused, meaningful stare.

Steve knew exactly what he meant. He understood and didn't disagree. He nodded a very tiny nod. He HAD changed since Danno came on board. He hadn't taken time until now to examine those changes, think much about them. This little stint in the ER was giving him time- and reason- to think about some of these issues.

Danno's eyes twinkled. "Steve, have you ever heard the word 'aikane'? A Hawaiian word?"

Steve shook his head no. Danno continued, "It kind of means brother, Steve. You're my aikane. And I'm your kaikaina. Little brother. We're close, Steve. Even though you don't say much, it's there. We both know it. And it's good."

All were quiet for a few minutes, thinking. Then Danno piped up again, "You know what else, Steve?"

Steve wasn't sure he wanted to know what else….

Danno laughed, sensing his boss's hesitancy, "It's the drugs. I mean after all, Doc's a coroner. If he shoots me full of some drugs that make me a blabbermouth and uninhibited about anything, well, he's the coroner- maybe he's not up on proper medications and correct dosages and all that!" Danny kidded.

"But there's more, Steve. I can see it, even if it is another thing you hide well." He looked at the tall man sitting next to him, their eyes met.

Danno glanced at Doc, realizing he was a friend who wouldn't betray secrets, "You get scared sometimes, Steve. That's okay."

No one said anything for more minutes. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

Steve's turn to smirk, "The drugs, huh? How come drugs have never affected ME like that?"

Danno had a quick reply, "Oh, that's easy, Steve. You've only been hurt once since I've known you- when Trinian shot you. And then it was a 'real' doctor taking care of you, not Coroner Bergman. So you were getting different drugs than what I'm getting now. I'm sure of it! I'm sure it's the drugs, Steve. Doc even said so. I quote, '…it's the drugs talking. He's not really responsible for what he's saying.' "

But all three men knew Danny was exactly aware of what he was saying and meant every word of it.

Steve shook his head and quipped, "Doc, are you almost done with him? I need to take him home and put him to bed so he can sleep and let all these 'drugs' work their way out of his system!" Aikane and kaikaina smiled warmly at each other.

Doc did indeed finish in short order, gave discharge instructions, and the two men left. Danno was quite sore and moving slowly. Steve- the pussycat- was quite careful and attentive to Danno's limitations. He took him home to his own place, over the younger man's objections, to recover under his watchful eye.

As Danno slept peacefully in the guest room, Steve stood in the doorway watching him and thanked God for this wonderful aikane.


End file.
